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My family believes in astrology and past lives and it drives me crazy. I hold my tongue as to not argue with my wife and daughter but inside I am just shaking my head.

bioman888 4 Dec 27
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Not sure why it’s such a problem. Not like child malesting priests or hate speech imams. It’s what you and your daughter do. Perhaps they don’t like it when you discuss golf or sport or whatever they do. At least they have the good grace not to involve you. You are instead missing out in their interests which could be a valuable family share thing. If you put content over family acceptance and involvement your on the way to indifference. How about putting your rational mind aside and see what they get out of it. You might enjoy their interest instead of personally criticising.

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When William Herschel I believe it was derided Isaac Newton for his interest in astrology Newton responded with the perfect put down. “I have studied the subject sir, you have not”. Just a thought to consider when stepping outside of your field of expertise.

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Why don't you become knowledgeable about the subject.

Surviving Death: Evidence of the Afterlife
by Leslie Kean

[goodreads.com]

@bioman888 The science starts with NDEs. Jeffrey Long's works is sited by the previous author that I mentioned.

Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences by Jeffrey Long, M.D.

The only lesson that you can learn from past lives is that gruges last lifetimes. That guy you hate so damn much, well he probably stole your horse and killed you in the process. It was 761 AD, get over it. ??????

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It drives you crazy because down deep - the real issue is that they don't think like you do and that creates a ton of other issues that are largely in your head. For example - I'm level-headed, intelligent, factual etc., etc., how have I failed to convince them that I'm right? Once you get away from that - it won't drive you crazy anymore. I went through the same thing years ago - my daughter/wife believe in astrology - my son is much more conservative than I am and he hunts - something I made a choice never to do. It bothered me at first but then I started to realize that my anxiety was something that I was causing to myself and that there were so many other topics where we found common ground that to focus on the few we didn't was just silly and a complete waste of time. Years later their conversations about astrology have simply become background noise replaced by the realization that the most important thing wasn't what they were talking about but the fact that we were spending time together. Those who say that they couldn't hold their tongue in a similar situation are in fact trying to turn the conversation between mother/daughter into a conversation about themselves and their beliefs when in fact the conversation between mother/daughter (as an example) has nothing to do with them at all.

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Well thank you for being so tolerant

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You sound like such a Capricorn, lol. Maybe you'll be reincarnated as a goat.

Only kidding!

My former best friend was always making excuses for the bullshit he'd do because he's a Scorpio. I would always tell him it was just because he was an asshole, and he would laugh and take it as a joke. Weird, anyway ... it's hard to move people from something they choose to believe out of willful ignorance. I wish you the best of luck.

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My mother will noth go to church AND read tarot, runes, wears crystals, believes in ghosts AND supports Trump. I can't even.

I'm moving near her in the next few weeks and I hope to expose her to some gentle questions that will make her think about things a bit more carefully.

RezZa Level 5 Dec 27, 2018

Let us know how it goes or if you'd like suggestions. I tried this with my parents (minus moving near them) and failed, but I'm curious to know what your approach is.

@PolyWolf It is not unheard of for us to have long existential talks over coffee. They were more frequent and much different before I outgrew her beliefs, but the opportunity for those kinds of talks will be there, for sure.

She sits around praying and hoping for things like a millionaire with a heart of gold. She is smart and capable of doing many things, but she spends her days wishing really hard instead. Law of attraction and all of that shit. I really think she would be better off realizing that she is in control of how shitty or how good her life is. And it would be great if she would stop using her "Love Cards" book to determine people's worth/compatibility every time she meets someone. XD

@RezZa The fact that your mother is capable of understanding the meaning of the word existential is pretty awesome though. Mine is too bereft of sense to understand such things. This isn't meant as an insult to her; I just find she immediately puts her head in the sand when anything remotely challenging to her beliefs comes up, and it's painful for us. I hope your discussions can make a difference, for both your sakes.

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